Bruce praises Wigan defence

Wigan boss Steve Bruce has reserved special praise for his defenders and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland as they kept out Arsenal in their game in the Premiership at the weekend.

"He has produced save after save and he is as brave as a lion. He was excellent," said Bruce.

"You need your goalkeeper to play well against Arsenal, and he made two great saves. He was drafted into the England squad, and you can see why.

"We used to be leaking goals here a few months ago. But now we've had four clean sheets out of the last five games, which is far better, and the players deserve a pat on the back."

"We played Bolton three months ago - and when I was driving home after they beat us 4-1 I was thinking, 'We are in danger of being cast adrift if we don't do something quickly'.

"The response has been terrific. The effort they have put in is the reason we have turned it around."